This invention relates to magnetic navigation of medical devices, and in particular to improved methods and means for the delivery of bi-ventricular pacing leads.
Bi-ventricular pacing is an increasingly used treatment of electrical irregularities of the heart, and particularly diseased and enlarged hearts. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,304,218, 5,755,766, 5,800,497, 5,803,928, 5,902,331, and Mertz, Non-Traditional Pacemakers Synchronize Ailing Hearts, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. However the procedure of placing the pacing leads is difficult and time consuming. The length of the procedure puts patients, who usually already have diseased or damaged hearts, at risk, and makes the procedure relatively expensive.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for guiding medical devices into human blood vessels. It is particularly useful for the placement of pacing leads and delivery catheters for facilitating the placement of the leads, and improved methods of placing the leads that make the procedures easier for the physicians to perform, and shorter for the patients. This reduces the stress of the procedure on the patient, and shortens recovery time.